1927 Early Autumn

1927

Early Autumn

Louis Bromfield 

339 pages 

Summary 

The Pentlands, a snobby Massachusetts family, persist in their WASPy ways even as neighboring families die out and are replaced by nouveau riche social climbers. Pentland Manor is ruled by the ferociously etiquette-bound Aunt Cassie. Cassie runs the house in place of her sister-in-law, who is mysteriously housed in one wing of the grand house with a debilitating mental illness and a nurse to tend her. Cassie's brother, John, is the titular head of the family, but he spends his days playing bridge with a female friend of his wife. John's son Anson, the up-and-coming heir of the family, has married a lowly Scots-Irish girl named Olivia, much to the family's grave disappointment. The mismatched couple has one son who is always ill. A breath of fresh air arrives in the form of the Pentland daughter, Sybil, who is returning from school in Paris. A cousin Sabine, also lately from Europe, joins the family. These two free-thinking, well-travelled women drive the plot's progress, as the author touches on themes of marriage aspirations, women's autonomy, and the dubious value of Old Family class pretentions. As in any good melodrama, revealed family secrets will challenge the characters' worldview. Louis Bromfield was noted for his strong female characters, and (despite the poor matriarch languishing in the attic), this book provides many good examples of active women.    

Adaptations 

Bromfield had many connections in Hollywood (see more below). Nevertheless, this book was never made into a movie. The rights were optioned in 1956 by an independent filmmaker, but the project mysteriously fizzled. A good stand-in for the seething human drama underlying normal life might be the movie Peyton Place (1956). The book, afterall, relies heavily on melodramatic tropes. However, to capture the author's indictment of the Puritan work ethic, you couldn't do better than to watch Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn in George Cukor's film Holiday (1938).       

If you wish to stay closer to Bromfield's own writing, IMBD lists 16 writing credits in his filmography. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0111313/

Related Activities 

Louis Bromfield built a fascinating life for himself beyond his books. As a journalist and prolific novelist, he travelled the world and befriended many Lost Generation and Hollywood luminaires. Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall were married in his living room. He married a wealthy socialite, whose Puritan-stock family served as the model for the Pentland way of life. To redress the childhood trauma of losing a family farm, Bromfield purchased his own farm in Ohio and named it Malabar. There he built a stunning home and experimented with sustainable agriculture. The farm was generously endowed with a trust late in Bromfield's life by a wealthy lady friend. Today Bromfield is  better remembered as a conservationist and agriculturist than as an author. 

Visit Malabar, now an Ohio State Park, to understand the depth of Bromfield's farming passions.  https://ohiodnr.gov/wps/portal/gov/odnr/go-and-do/plan-a-visit/find-a-property/malabar-farm-state-park today